(MENAFN- AFP) Russia is planning a major drive to improve its image abroad by opening more cultural centres, promoting the learning of Russian and encouraging visits by young people, a report said Wednesday.
The Kommersant daily said the plan -- worked out by the government and state cooperation body Rossotrudnichestvo -- was in line with the Kremlin's desire to use "soft power" to preserve Russian influence abroad.
A pillar of the plan will be to expand and open state-run Russian cultural centres abroad. It said Russia currently has just 59 such centres whereas China has almost 900.
The plan says new centres should be opened "taking into account the geopolitical interests of the Russian Federation." Existing centres will be modernised and branches of state Russian museums opened inside.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy live relays of Russian theatre premiers or new Russian films with subtitles.
Russian language teaching abroad is to be stepped up with a new state-approved test to be introduced for improving foreigners' knowledge, Kommersant said.
The state would also step up efforts to encourage young foreigners to study and visit Russia. The country would host the international festival of youth and students in 2017, as the Soviet Union did in 1957 and 1985.
It would create a Russian union of friendship communities, a revival of a Soviet-era youth outreach organisation.
Russia frets that despite its vast cultural riches and fascinating history, its image abroad is dominated by stereotypes of mafia-linked businessmen, prison camps, unbearable cold and inedible food.
It is also concerned that Russian remains an international language even after the collapse of the USSR.
Yet Kommersant warned that using "soft power" to improve Russia's image was not guaranteed to succeed when foreign opinions were so dependent on events inside the country.
"As the story last year with (jailed feminist punk band) Pussy Riot shows, there can be a sharp deterioration of the country's image abroad within the space of a week," it said.
The head of Rossotrudnichestvo Konstantin Kosachev declined to comment on the document, telling the paper it had not yet "gone through all the stages of approval."
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